Crime
by Alien Altered
Summary: Lamb may be an arrogant, pig-headed ass, but he still knew the basic ‘damsel in distress’ signals. He could pretend to not care another time, right now Veronica was in danger. Lamb/Veronica.
1. Chapter 1

Still own nothing

Still own nothing. Maybe after season 3.

The town of Neptune has a lot to thank Sheriff Lamb for. Mostly, they owe him thanks for abandoning Veronica Mars. Without that act of evil, Veronica may not be the tough PI she now is; he forced Veronica to grow the hard outer shell she now possesses. Most of the time this tough exterior and confidence when it comes to cases is amazingly useful, but not always. Now was one of the instances when it wasn't. Lamb may be an arrogant, pig-headed ass, but he still knew the basic 'damsel in distress' signals, so when he got the call from an anxious Veronica telling him to get down to 3 Jamestown Boulevard pronto, Lamb knew she meant business. By the time that the call cut out on Veronica's sob, Lamb was running towards his car. He could pretend to not care another time, right now Veronica was in danger.

Sacks cuffed Scott Pale and dragged him to the cruiser. Scotty had assaulted Lamb, which left both with a fair few bruises. Lamb looked through the house, discreetly searching for Veronica. He found her in the study; duct taped and tied to the desk, with more tape covering her lips and a deep gash on her right calf. He searched through his pockets but, of course, couldn't find his knife. Veronica struggled and nodded her head to over her shoulder. He checked behind her and, sure enough, found Veronicas knife clutched in her hand, attempting to cut through the tape and rope. Lamb grabbed the knife and carefully but quickly cut away the bindings. Veronica couldn't stand the look in Lambs eyes at that moment. Concern was something that Veronica rarely appreciated, and never when it came from Don Lamb. After all the restraints were removed Lamb gently touched her injured leg. For just a moment Veronica recognized the Donald Lamb she'd once known. She started thinking that maybe he wasn't so bad. Thoughts like that were dangerous. So she thought back to all the things he had done to hurt her, and those she loved; thought about everything he'd ever said to upset her, to discredit her. She thought about him laughing at her and her father; remembered when Lamb had ignored her claims of rape; thought about how he had arrested Weevil at his graduation; smirked at her when he informed her that Duncan's password was Meg Kane backwards; leered at her when he'd heard of her STD; she remembered all that and felt her hatred rekindle. Lamb noticed the change in her as she visibly stiffened. She knocked his hand away with hers and pushed herself from the floor. Lamb instantly stood from his crouching position and attempted to help, but Veronica glared at him and he stepped back. She limped to the door, holding onto the desk and walls for support. When she reached the door she hesitated. Without turning around Veronica spoke, "Thanks, for actually showing up." That was it; that was all she said before continuing her trek to her car. Lamb didn't reply, just thought of the irony to how Veronica had picked herself off the ground with no help, even though she was in pain – that was the story of her life. The story of his life too.

From as young as Lamb could remember, he and his elder sister had been abused by their father. Their mother had split when Lamb was six, and his sister, Joanne, was three years older than him. The thing he hated most was hearing Joanne's screams, and watching her each day as she pushed herself off the floor and applied her make-up. Lamb could deal with the physical blows, but seeing his sister in pain was the worst feeling in the world. He'd observed as Joanne smiled and fooled everyone around her that everything was fine. One day Don had finally asked Joanne why she was always so happy at school. She'd explained to him the importance of normality. By the time Lamb turned eight, he was pro at covering everything up. He smiled when he was upset, laughed when appropriate and was able to explain away the bruises by his new bad-boy reputation. His sister and he had grown up as liars, they'd stolen food when their father starved them, and had each been secretly squirreling up money. Lamb had dreams of saving his sister, of the two of them living in someplace far away where it didn't matter who your parents were, who you were. It was a place they could start fresh, without the abuse. Joanne's dreams weren't so grand. One day she just disappeared. Lamb found a note under his pillow, explaining that she was okay, that she'd come back for him one day, and that she loved him. Lamb had never heard from Joanne again. His father had died from a blood clot in his brain and Lamb had moved to Neptune, became a cop and eventually the Sheriff.

Their dad had been a judge. He'd used people to get to where he was, betrayed and hurt those who had only been nice to him; Lamb had sworn to never be like that. He hated thinking about it, but when he did, Lamb realised that he had become almost exactly like his dad. He could deny and twist it as much as he wanted, but he had betrayed Keith and Veronica in his fight for power, just like his father. And the suffering he had inflicted onto Veronica had been just as bad as what his father had done to him. The difference was that Lamb rarely enjoyed the hurt he caused, he just couldn't help it. He lived by the 5 rules Joanne had taught him:

**1 –** Smile.

**2** **– **Don't let anyone get truly close to you.

**3** **–** Always have an excuse ready.

**4** **–** Never trust.

**5** **–** And never forgive.

For a stage in her life Veronica had had a set of rules very similar. But she'd moved on. As much as she hated Lamb, she owed so much to him. She preferred the person she had become. She had great friends who she loved. And her father was always going to be there for her. Maybe life did suck at times, but she got through.


	2. Chapter 2

Lamb was more than a little surprised to see Veronica running into the station

Lamb was more than a little surprised to see Veronica running into the station. She threw a file at Lamb quickly and whispered menacingly "Get the bastard." Lamb flicked through the file. Photo's, hospital reports, drawings, poems and discs. Lamb quickly leafed through it all before looking startled at Veronica who nodded sternly. Lamb grabbed his jacket, keys and gun and rushed to his cruiser. Veronica followed him, limping. "I'm coming." Before he could protest Veronica had the passenger door open and was sliding into the seat. As soon as both doors were shut the car peeled out of the lot and sped towards the address listed on the file Veronica had handed him.

When the door opened Lamb found himself face-to-face with a nicely dressed, smiling reverend. Veronica looked daggers at the man and Lamb swallowed his contempt momentarily, "Can I have a quick word Rev."

Deputy Johns sped back towards the station with Rev Hills cuffed and seated in the back. Lamb found Veronica sitting solemnly on the young girl's bed. He should probably say something witty about now, tease her, joke about her father's incompetence, but the words couldn't find him. Veronica began to speak without prompting, hers eyes remaining on the floor. "She told him. She told him, and he didn't fucking believe her. He was her best god-damn friend. And he was 16, he should have trusted her, he should have seen the signs. 12 year old girls don't lie about that sort of thing." Lamb stood awkwardly, thinking how personal this case had become for both himself and Veronica. The reverend had been abusing his 12 year old daughter for years. She'd told her best friend – a 16 year old neighbour – and he hadn't believed her. The mother was an alcoholic who had run away little less than a month ago. She'd left right after giving birth to an, as of yet, un-named baby boy. Lamb sat beside Veronica and wrapped an arm tightly around her shoulders. A momentary truce between to people wadding through a sea of stormy memories.

"Sometimes guys are too full of their own stupid crap to accept what others tell them, and other times they just don't want to. He should have believed her. And I should have believed you." Veronica nodded and grasped his hand. She looked like she was going to say something but was interrupted by the baby boy who began crying. Veronica immediately walked to the crib and picked up the baby, talking gently to him until he fell back asleep. Veronica placed him into the crib again and Lamb stood closer to watch. Veronica, however, didn't notice Lamb standing almost directly behind her so when she turned around Lamb had to grab her to stop her from falling backwards into the child's crib. They ended up very close, with Lambs arms holding Veronica supportively. His brain was telling him to step back, his heart saying to stay right there, and other parts of his body were advising him to go for it, and do things he'd rather others not know. They stood there in limbo for a full minute before Lamb decided to listen to his body and kissed the blonde full on the lips.

Will she kiss back? Stay tuned. I should have internet in two days!! YAY!!


End file.
